Thursday, April 16, 2009

ISU Basketball Schedule May Have Gotten Easier

Luke Harangody (right) isn't hiring an agent so he can always change his mind, but it looks like Idaho State's basketball schedule got a little bit more manageable next year. The Bengals are scheduled to travel to South Bend, Ind. next season to take on Notre Dame. Harangody, of course, has been an All-American forward for the Irish for the past three seasons, but he announced today that he's making himself eligible for the NBA draft.

Because he isn't hiring an agent, Harangody has until June 15 to pull himself out of the draft and retain his eligibility for next season. The various draft projections I've seen show the 6-8 forward landing somewhere in the middle of the first round. As he works out for pro teams over the next two months, he'll get a better feel for where he's likely to be drafted, and then make up his mind whether he's "all in" as far as the draft is concerned.

The Fighting Irish finished second in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) last year after a mid-season collapse that cost them an NCAA tournament berth. If Harangody does go pro, they'll lose their top three scorers off that team, including three-point gunner Kyle McAlarney and forward Ryan Ayers. Playing in the fabled Athletics and Convocation Center will be no picnic for the Bengals, but it will be a lot less intimidating without the rabid Harangody bulling his way through the lane.

The Bengals haven't completed their basketball schedule yet for next year, but Frank Mercogliano tells me that, while it probably won't match this year's killer slate, plenty of challenges remain. For one thing, ISU has to return trips to Utah, BYU and Utah State. They also have to travel to South Dakota State, and they get Boise State at home. I'm sure Frank will have more details as the schedule gets defined.

Farewell to Bruce Snyder

A lot of famous people in the sports world passed away this week, including Harry Kalas and Mark "The Bird" Fidrych. Somewhat lost in the coverage of those two passings was the death of former Utah State football Coach Bruce Snyder. Snyder, who was most noted for producing ranked teams at both Cal and Arizona State, consistently fielded representative teams at Utah State in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Bengal fans will most remember him, however, from an appearance at the then-ASISU Minidome in 1981, when Idaho State's eventual national champions eviscerated the Aggies, 50-24, in the second-to-the-last regular season game that year. ISU wide receiver Chris Corp had a career night, catching three touchdowns and making some of the most athletic catches I've ever seen. Snyder, whose team was denied a winning record that night, was classy following the game, calling Bengal quarterback Mike Machurek, "as good a quarterback as we've seen this year." That was a mightly nice compliment, especially considering the Aggies had played BYU and All-American Jim McMahon earlier in the season.

--Brad B.

And thanks for being a Bengal fan, it ain't always easy, but it's always fun.